Cognizant has sought two weeks time from the Telangana government following a meeting convened with the joint commissioner of labour and the company management to arrive at an amicable solution.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held on May 26. Telangana is also the first state to intervene in the forced resignation issue despite Cognizant’s claim that it has not conducted any layoffs but conducted a performance-based process. (Reuters)

Cognizant has sought two weeks time from the Telangana government following a meeting convened with the joint commissioner of labour and the company management to arrive at an amicable solution. The next meeting is scheduled to be held on May 26. Telangana is also the first state to intervene in the forced resignation issue despite Cognizant’s claim that it has not conducted any layoffs but conducted a performance-based process.

A Cognizant spokesperson confirmed that senior officials from the company met the joint commissioner of labour on Thursday. R Chandra Shekaram, JCL, Hyderabad, told FE that the company officials had detailed discussions over the forced layoffs of eight employees. These employees had given a representation to the labour department on the sudden layoffs recently. “While three of the eight employees were forced to submit their resignations, the rest were yet to get any notices or any orders,” he added.

However, sources in the know said that the government was also serious about understanding about the proposed expansion plans by the company in Hyderabad. In 2014, the company decided to invest over Rs 500 crore to expand its Gachibowli facility in Hyderabad to accommodate around 8,000 professionals. This included adding a new built-up area of 1.5 million sq ft on its 11-acre Gachibowli campus. The expanded facility will have a capacity to accommodate around 8,000 professionals. Cognizant has an existing 225,000 sq ft facility in the campus.

The Hyderabad centre is an important part of its integrated global delivery capabilities. Cognizant started operations in Hyderabad in 2002 and has grown from just 180 professionals in 2002 to more than 18,000 professionals from its five facilities in Hyderabad, which includes one self-owned and four leased, servicing 300 of its global clients.